As published yesterday at the Internet Café… Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

I have loved you with an everlasting love. ~Jeremiah 31:3

Throughout my years of searching for God, I’ve seen Him in so many different ways. Kindly grandfather hovering in the heavens… fierce protector… intimate lover… friend who knows me… savior who redeems me… teacher who reprimands me… strict, righteous judge… compassionate forgiver… Different seasons have brought an awareness of different aspects of God.
And yet, they’re all God. They’re different facets of this glorious, incomprehensible being that, as Christians, we spend our lives trying to understand. To see. To know.
This year I’m starting a new tradition. I’m going to write a love letter to God. Enclose it in an envelope. Label it with the year. Wrap it in a satin ribbon and tuck it away. Every year I’ll add to this and keep my packet of love letters in a safe place.
This is why: We like to think we’ll remember the things that matter, but we often forget. I thought I’d remember what it was like to be a newlywed, but as I near my 24th wedding anniversary, the memories are hazy. I thought I’d be able to recall what it felt like when my four-year-old wrapped her arms around my neck. Now she’s 21 and I still adore her hugs but I can’t really call to mind the person she was then… Until I read the words I wrote at that time. Journals, letters, baby books (back when I had time to put them together).
So I’m going to write a letter to the lover of my soul. The One who loves me more than anyone else loves me. Will you join me?
Write what you’re feeling. What you know about Him right now. What you wonder, what you need, what you love. What He’s revealed recently. What He is to you, and what you want Him to be. Just pour out your heart to the One who will always listen.
And someday, when you’re feeling discouraged, when you’re feeling as though you’ve lost touch with God, forgotten how to pray, neglected Him, forgotten to watch for Him or spend time with Him, pull out your letters. And remind yourself, again and again, all the things He has been to you—the things He still is, because He never changes. Use them to build your faith, renew your passion, strengthen your love.
Know that He doesn’t care if the letter is well written or if the handwriting is pretty. It doesn’t matter if you write on elegant, hand-made stationery or the back of an envelope. It doesn’t matter if you write one sentence or three pages. In your heart, determine that this is the gift you have to give to Him. Offer it with pure intention, heartfelt emotion. Don’t feel silly or hold back. Allow yourself to behave as a woman who has found her true love.
Because God leans forward in anticipation when you speak to Him. He watches you. He never forgets you. Even if you don’t always feel Him, He never leaves your side. He loves you. He adores you. He delights in you, and He can’t wait to read what you write to Him.
Go do it. Right now.
Because you are His beloved. You have found the One who loves you deeper and more powerfully than words could ever say. Not just until the candy in the heart-shaped box runs out. But eternally and unconditionally. Forevermore.
And He’s waiting to hear what you have to say.